


You're a Catch (Let's Match?)

by mels_wr



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Acceptance, Alternate Universe - Baseball, Alternate Universe - College/University, Bang Chan is Oblivious, Inspired by Black Swan (BTS), Kim Seungmin & Yang Jeongin | I.N are Best Friends, Kim Seungmin is Whipped, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, and also in denial, deep talks, i can't believe it's not a tag, i guess, okay here we go, sorry i can't tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:01:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26623333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mels_wr/pseuds/mels_wr
Summary: seungmin’s love for baseball seemed to disappear day by day until he saw bang chan playing baseball with such energy and fervour that seungmin couldn’t help but be captivated by every movements and action of the pitcher, even the slightest. that day seungmin was reminded of why he had fallen in love with baseball.or seungmin develops a crush for the baseball team captain, bang chan, who made him enjoy playing baseball again. little does he know that chan has to let go of his passion for said game.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Kim Seungmin
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10
Collections: Seungmin-Centric Ficfest





	You're a Catch (Let's Match?)

**Author's Note:**

> **PROMPT #117:**
>
>>   
> Person A, freshman university baseball player, has always looked up to the varsity team captain, Person B. The admiration turns into something more when he finally gets to know him.
> 
> hello! i want to thank whoever sent this prompt ( i hope you enjoy reading it ) and the admin who has been really patience.
> 
> some notes: 
> 
> [1] this is a baseball au but i literally know very little about it! sorry if there'll be some inaccuracies, let's pretend they make sense!
> 
> [2] english is not my first language, sorry in advance for any mistakes.
> 
> [3] i don't know when i'll post the next chapter but i'll for sure finish this fic.

the boy hit the ball as hard as he could. the ball flew through the open and fresh air while the boy ran to the first base and then to the second where he stopped right before the ball was caught in the first baseman's glove. as the boy breathed through his mouth another person whistled.

“alright, guys! training is over,” the coach said, “you did a good job today.” whispers among the team members could be heard as well as cheering sounds but they didn’t bring the nearly exhausted boy to reality. it was, in fact, a pat on his back and a soft-spoken voice. 

“seungmin, you alright?” said boy lifted his head, his eyes locking with the ones of the captain of the team and no more with the ground. he inhaled sharply before standing up and smiling. “yes chan,” seungmin said, “i'm just a little tired.”

chan hummed. “yeah, today's training was rough.” seungmin agreed. their coach didn't go easy on them, maybe the reason was the approaching game. after a few seconds of silence, the hand that was comfortably patting seungmin disappeared along with the little sparkle in his eyes. “seungmin-ah?” chan's voice nearly startled him. still looking at him, seungmin noticed that chan was staring at the sunny sky now. the next words surprised him, “you did well.”

suddenly his body wasn't aching anymore or desperately asking for a rest, instead, seungmin felt like he could still run for another half hour if that meant chan would praise him more. he licked his dried lips. “thanks”, he said. he knew that he wasn't most likely the only one chan praised because that's what a good captain does (and also because chan it's a good person), nonetheless it was genuine and made seungmin very happy. 

chan smiled a little and then ruffled his sweaty and sticky hair before leaving him alone, walking towards the other members. it amazed seungmin how those small kind gestures and words from the person he looks up to could affect him so much. seungmin's eyes followed chan, admiring his wide back, till he finally decided it was a good idea to go to the locker room and take a shower.

○ ○ ○

it has been three months since seungmin joined the baseball team of yellowood university, also known as one of the most respected universities out there, thanks to a sports scholarship and his very good grades. as expected the university offered excellent education and great opportunities that others unlikely could give to its students and seungmin was lucky enough to find a spacious one-room flat for his own in the same area of the university. besides, seungmin was grateful to his baseball team members for welcoming the new ones with warm greetings, giving good advances and not treating them like children. that was one of the reasons why everyone in the team was comfortable and friendly with each other. honestly, seungmin was glad that he had agreed to go to the final university baseball game months ago despite feeling feverish and not too well but he couldn't say no to jeongin, his best friend, and his cute face, so he just took some medicine and went along. besides, jeongin is a year younger than him and it meant that they wouldn't see each other every day like they did because seungmin was going to university while jeongin would still be in high school. one of seungmin's most important day went like this:

_seungmin sat down on the bleachers right next to jeongin. his friend chose the perfect seats. from there, they had the stadium's entire view therefore they could see every movement. seungmin didn't know how jeongin managed to take those seats but he was glad. at least he could enjoy the match although he was a little tired._

_after the players did a few warm-up exercises, the game started. both teams were really good, in fact by the end of the eighth inning, the team of the miroh university was leading by a few points. when the game resumed it was the start of the ninth and, presumably, last inning and the yellowood university was the one fielding. in the field was now a new pitcher (the closing one, seungmin thought), ready to throw the ball and take his team to victory. of course, seungmin had seen or even met many pitchers, hell he was a pitcher himself, but something about this one was different. maybe it was his concentrated look or the seriousness in his face, or even his fierce eyes which were hard but not impossible to see under the cap; or maybe how confident he did grin at the hitter, revealing the way the catcher had just showed he was about to throw the ball. the funny thing is that the hitter couldn't hit the ball even if he knew where it was going, as it went into the catcher's glove at a speed of 106 km/h (that’s what the speaker said). saying seungmin and jeongin were surprised was an understatement._

_the two boys were amazed. seungmin thought he could see this kind of talent only through the screen of his big television at home, while maybe eating pop-corn and drinking some cola on the sofa, together with his family. now, he definitely wasn’t at home, on his sofa; instead, he had number 97 – seungmin could see the black stamp on the pitcher’s shirt - right in front of his eyes. the yellowood pitcher easily did strikeout three hitters, one after the other, with an incredible technique and control. it truly was a treat for the eyes._

_by the end of the top of the inning, the yellowood team and miroh team only had two points of difference thanks to number 97. during the second half, everyone was caught up on the game, watching attentively; no one dared to blink as if in doing so they could miss the point that would lead one team to victory. finally, the said point came to the miroh university team._

_although the miroh university won the game, to seungmin the yellowood university was the real winner. their closer, whose name is bang chan, – seungmin actually heard the speaker say the player’s name during a particular hit – was the one who caught his attention._

_seungmin fell in love with baseball when he was a child, after watching his uncle play it; the passion, the determination, the love that his uncle had for baseball, he passed it down to seungmin. just listening to his uncle talk about the sport, how his eyes would sparkle and his voice rise from the excitement while a wide smile spread on his face; little seungmin would hold his breath and stare at his uncle with eyes full of admiration. initially he started to play with his uncle then joined a baseball team after his uncle had convinced seungmin’s parents to. seungmin never gave up: he didn’t when he grazed his knee during his first match when he was in elementary school or when his teammates thought he was useless to the team in high school; not when he began to feel numb while playing, not even when his father wanted him to. and yet seungmin’s love for baseball seemed to disappear day by day: he didn’t feel like he was on cloud nine anymore, his mind full of bad thoughts. still, seungmin managed to keep up and not stray, even if he wanted to because he was so scared. so scared to wake up one day and not feel his heart beating when playing baseball. so scared to lose his smile while talking about it. afraid of ending up like his uncle, his eyes filled with sadness and regret. so scared to feel nothing, just emptiness. but seeing bang chan playing baseball with such energy and fervour, seungmin couldn’t help but be captivated by every movements and action, even the slightest. he was reminded of one of the reasons he had started playing baseball._

_that day seungmin fell in love with baseball for the second time._

○ ○ ○

(maybe, just maybe, that day he didn’t fall in love with baseball only.)

○ ○ ○

another month went by and all seungmin did was studying and training. sometimes he would hang out with jeongin too if he had some free time (which was rare). listening to jeongin talking about high school and his family, it made seungmin miss that part of his life. he was almost an adult though, he should get used to those feelings and his new life. he still found himself laughing at his friend’s silliness nonetheless.

seungmin also lived alone so he mostly ate instant noodles late night and then drank a cup of coffee to keep himself awake. he always managed to not fall asleep on his law books but his comfortable and cosy bed. he was proud of that. it was no surprise that seungmin was getting tired of what the cafeterias had to offer, that’s why he decided to agree to get lunch with the baseball team at fast food. they all knew that it wasn’t healthy but it was good at least. nevertheless, the boys had the common sense to respect their diet and working out every day, just… a bit of junk food never killed anyone, right?

seungmin should eat more home food, healthy ones; he should cook and not put everything in the microwave. he knew that. he was able to do so during the first three weeks of university, but now he has no time. his days were fulfilled, all seungmin thought about was baseball and exams. usually, seungmin knew how to take care of himself – mentally and physically -, he just didn’t want to fall behind. he couldn’t. he needed to exceed in everything and do better. always. if seungmin found himself alone in the quietness of his flat most of his days then it’s okay. it only helped him to concentrate. 

seungmin had stopped seeing jeongin but they still kept in touch in one way or another, although he was lucky if he had enough time to video call him. his parents, instead, barely called him and neither did he. because of that, seungmin seemed to create a deep bond with the baseball team. seungmin would see and talk to them every single day, for many hours, and it just came naturally to get close to them. minho, the catcher, was the one who talked to him first. 

(it was on his first day of training and seungmin was feeling a bit nervous when suddenly a boy sat next to him. “you’re new, right?” he said, smiling warmly. seungmin studied the other's face — he has cat eyes like and straight nose; the upper lip is bigger than the lower one and comes forward a little bit – before answering with a small yes and a nod of his head. the boy's gummy smile grew bigger. “don't worry, we're going to take care of you. i'm minho”, he said and hold out his hand in front of seungmin who shook it. “seungmin, nice to meet you”) 

on the other hand, seungmin was the one who started a conversation with jisung. the two had more in common that it seemed: both were freshman and born under the virgo constellation in september, but jisung was a messier one. seungmin, in fact, was the cleanest member of the team. 

seungmin was amazed by the talent of the boy who was so good at hitting as he was in his position of first baseman. one day seungmin approached jisung after practice and told him how impressive and skillful he thought he was. jisung smiled shyly thanking seungmin while red spread on his cheeks. they started to small talk and even eating lunch together when they could, just the two of them, right when jisung became comfortable to be around seungmin. 

the pitcher’s first impression he had of changbin wasn’t the most accurate. at first, seungmin was intimated by the hitter’s appearance. also, his serious face and the various glances he threw at seungmin when playing didn’t help much. only later, when changbin gave him some tips on how to hit better, seungmin changed his mind on the junior. furthermore, seungmin discovered a new side of changbin as days went by: the older liked to use aegyo and annoying the members way too much. seungmin would never admit it but it was lowkey cute. and funny too. still, changbin took baseball seriously like most of them. 

last but not least, there was chan. seungmin tended to act awkwardly every time chan was near. he didn’t know why. (false, he knew too well). seungmin wasn’t all that surprised when the first day of training he saw chan approaching him right after seungmin had finished talking to minho. after all that’s what a good captain does. he kept looking after all the members, focusing his attention towards the youngest ones the most, pointing out different mistakes and giving advices. he never forgets to praise and boost with confidence his teammates. in seungmin’s opinion, chan is the most reliable person he’s ever met. he also puts so much trust on his team, especially in minho and changbin, it is endearing. chan listens to the coach well and takes all the stress from everyone else. he’s all smiles and good words, he’s thoughtful and determinate. to seungmin’s pleasure, around his friends chan is a dork too, but also very shy and more. so much more. in seungmin’s eyes, chan is beautiful. everything he does, everything he says, it's just amazing.

however, chan is the most beautiful when he looks at him, when he touches him (could it be by mistake, only a brush of their fingers, or wanted like a hand on his back and the other on his abdomen to adjust his posture). chan's the most beautiful when he talks to him, smiles at him. he's the most beautiful because he makes seungmin feel alive. seungmin's selfish. he knew that. that's why he tried not to get too excited whenever chan spoke to him, or tried to avoid from making eye contact with him in fear of getting flustered. it wasn't easy for sure, still, seungmin tried. he didn’t want to let chan know about his feelings for him, let alone everyone else in the team. gosh, even seungmin himself didn’t want to acknowledge what he felt for chan was. it scared him to think about it, to name it. so, seungmin just hid himself, admiring chan only from far. he could do that. 

like that, seungmin noticed something was wrong with chan. sure, his technique and posture were as perfect as he remembered from the match he watched months ago, but seungmin felt like chan had lost his confidence. he didn’t tease the opponent like he used to, instead it looked as if chan was always on the edge, waiting for something to happen, to break. if seungmin was steady, no improvements ahead, then chan wasn't any better: his speed decreased — although it was still good – and seungmin couldn't help but see how chan's face would tense in pain sometimes during training or after throwing a ball. it worried seungmin. a lot. 

seungmin really wanted to ask what happened to chan, but he didn’t think it was any of his business. however, seungmin had tried to spill something out of jisung but the boy knew as much as he did. seungmin couldn’t blame him, all in all jisung was a freshman like him so it was understandable for them to be both clueless. 

in the little time he was on the team, seungmin could tell changbin was close to chan, since they had been friends for a long time now. they easily clicked together: in fact, they had similar interests and ideas. both also completed each other well. because of that, it didn't seem fair to seungmin to ask changbin about his concern towards his best friend's health. (he also didn’t want to upset changbin).

it was during one particular day of training that seungmin let the words out of his mouth before thinking. seungmin was sitting on one of the chairs of the dugout, next to minho, while observing chan practice. it was all good till seungmin noticed chan wrapping his hand around his right arm, the one chan used to throw the ball, and squeezing his eyes shut. even if seungmin couldn't hear it, he thought that chan hissed in pain. minho was going to stand up but changbin beat him and he was running towards chan in a blink of an eye. minho sighed. seungmin looked at the catcher: minho was biting his lips, harshly, looking intently ahead. it was in that moment that seungmin opened his mouth. “what happened to chan hyung?”

minho stopped biting his lips, his eyes still looking at changbin and the coach helping chan. he didn’t answer. 

“why does it seem like chan hyung is always in pain when playing?” seungmin whispered, careful.

minho turned around, looking at him. at first he was serious, maybe a little annoyed, but after seeing seungmin’s genuine concern, his face softened. “this isn’t something you should ask me, seungmin.”

_of course_ , seungmin thought while nodding to tell minho that he understood. “i’m just worried.”

minho smiled a little. it seemed sad but also sympathetic. “me too,” he said patting seungmin’s back. 

then minho has to leave, the coach calling for him. like that, seungmin is left alone with thoughts and worries. 

when practice ended, seungmin kindly turned down his teammates' invite to enjoy them for a ride, deciding instead to go straight home. there, he proceeded to eat a decent meal and study until the clock displayed 11 pm. laying on his comfy bed, a few minutes had to pass before seungmin could be lulled in the arms of morpheus. seungmin that night dreamed of a cute curly boy smiling at him and suddenly heat spreading on his entire face.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! :)


End file.
